Jungle Cruise (2021)

Plot of Jungle Cruise: It is 1916. Do I need to mention that the British and the Germans have been at war for two years? In London, after being rebuffed by the Royal Society, Dr Lily Houghton and her brother, McGregor, travel to the Amazon where they hope to find the secret of eternal life at the Lágrimas de Crystal thus helping in the war effort. Also pursuing the same task is Prince Joachim, hoping to do the job for the Germans. In an Amazon town they accidentally hire Frank Wolff and his old river boat and start off down river, guided by a chart of the many tributaries of the river. Back in 16^th Century a group of Spanish explorers have also, pursuing the same task, have been cursed and are petrified in a cave. Frank, Lily, McGregor and Frank’s tame leopard travel in the boat, until captured by cannibals, but escape to continue until they get to the source of the Tree at La Luna Rota. They are chased by the Germans in a submarine, and on and off by the ancient Spaniards, who are prevented from leaving the course of the river by the curse.  Can they make it?

Content: No sex or nudity, but a good joke as Lily demands that Frank turn his back while she disrobes but is still, in her underwear, clad from shoulder to knee. In London Lily steals an arrowhead from the Royal Society escaping by hanging from a ladder and landing on the top deck of a bus. She is established as a feisty young woman. Unusually for the year, she wears trousers. In the Amazon town, Porto Velho, a rivalry between the harbourmaster Nilo Nemolato who owns some, smart river boats and Frank, who owns a crappy old vessel, is established. Lily hires Frank more or less by accident and off they go. The German Prince Joachim, pursues them in a submarine which is equipped with torpedoes and a machine gun and has a luxurious captain’s cabin. The ancient conquistadores are variously disfigured, one is made up of bees, another is composed of snakes and another made of mud. The natives who capture our heroes are initially threatening, but turn out to be friendly when they discard their horrible masks. There are rapids, a waterfall and in the end a lagoon is drained, to reveal the tree of life.

A View:  This film covered its production costs at the box office but still did not turn a profit, in short, it was not another Pirates of the Caribbean despite being similarly structured. Considerable suspension of disbelief is required. They apparently travel ‘down’ the Amazon involving rapids and waterfalls, but if so how did they get ‘up’ the waterway in 1916. They always have the wheelhouse lights on in the dark, and the riverboat seems to be able to steer itself if Frank has something more important to do.

But despite all of that it is such a chummy outing that it is impossible to dislike, so maybe a matinee watch with your grandchildren! Fun Fact: Johnson and Blunt were told off by Disney for making what were